Hinsdale – When Bud Coglianese was asked to help with the Still Missed program at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital in 1998, his response was immediate.

“I have been honored to give back to the community in the care of miscarried or stillborn babies,” the Burr Ridge resident said. “The hospital gives me a gift by letting me help them.”

The Still Missed program supports parents who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or shortly after birth. As owner of the Coglianese Funeral Home in Burr Ridge, Coglianese helps with the burial or cremation of the babies, providing these services at no charge to many families.

In honor of his 14 years of volunteer service, Coglianese received the Bruce Conley Excellence in Caring Award, given by the Alliance of Perinatal Bereavement Support Facilitators, Chicago region. The award can be won by any individual or group that provides excellence in perinatal bereavement care. As a member of the Alliance, Still Missed Clinical Coordinator Rosmarie Roose nominated Coglinanese for the award.

“It is a pleasure to recognize Bud with this award,” Roose said. “His help for grieving families has been indispensable.”

Coglianese provides private and group cremation services, as well as graveside services, Roose said. He has educated staff on a funeral director’s role in the care of perinatal loss families. And his knowledge of regulations has helped develop the Still Missed program.

Coglianese first served parents following perinatal losses when he managed funeral homes, before he opened his own in 1985.

“Years ago, there wasn’t a lot available for these families,” Coglianese said. “I started making small caskets and urns. Now you can order them. Parents didn’t have options for burial and help in grieving. The Still Missed program is very important because it allows families to grieve and helps them return to normalcy.”

Coglianese’s service has gone beyond expectations. For instance, he helped a family with paperwork to transport a baby to Mexico for burial, and helped a family transport twins across state lines.

Coglianese said he is proud to accept the award, named for Bruce Conley, whom he knew professionally. Conley, a funeral director who died in 2010 at age 60, was a leader in grief work and was a pioneer in perinatal loss and caring. In 1975, he wrote “Butterflies, Grandpa & Me,” a story designed to help explain death, grief and the funeral to children, according to his obituary. Publications Conley produced are used across the country to help grieving families.

Coglianese is assisted at the funeral home by his wife Judy, a certified bereavement counselor and a registered nurse. His daughter Cheryl is the funeral home’s business manager. His daughter Lisa Janeway has worked as a labor and delivery nurse.

Coglianese is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. He served for 12 years as mayor of Burr Ridge and as a Burr Ridge trustee for two years. He is a member of the Willowbrook-Burr Ridge Kiwanis Club, the Darien Rotary, and the Mayslake Council Knights of Columbus.

Still Missed offers a variety of support services for families, including four support groups, peer parent support, annual memorial services and memorial garden plantings, an extensive library of written resources and trained bereavement counselors who provide phone follow-up. For more, visit the group’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/stillmissed.